'40s Country Hits

Hank Williams towers over the '40s and '50s, as a songwriter, performer, and all 'round country icon, so we had to start with him, and where better than "Lovesick Blues," complete with his trademark yodel? Longtime Roy Rogers cohorts the Sons of the Pioneers and their "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" exhibits a close 'n' sweet harmony that's almost entirely disappeared from country. And for those who love Western Swing, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys' "New San Antonio Rose" and Spade Cooley's "Shame On You" are essential listening. But there are also some granddaddies of rock coming as we take our Next Steps.

One might not look to Tennessee Ernie Ford as being a likely parent for rock 'n' roll, but the piano in his "Smoky Mountain Boogie" is right in line with early Jerry Lee Lewis thumpin' tracks. And if you were to remove the fiddle and vocal from Red Foley's "Tennessee Saturday Night," what you're left with is essentially the kind of jump blues found further north along the Mississippi River. Singing cowboy Gene Autry's countrified version of "Jingle Jangle Jingle" was one of two competing versions of the song to hit the charts at the same time (the other being a big band version from Kay Kyser). Now it's time to head towards a different kind of south — down to our Deep Cuts . . .

This was also the golden age of the screen cowboy, and three are featured in our Deep Cuts. Gene Autry's "Don't Fence Me In" begins with the lyric, "Oh give me land," which is kind of amusing, since he was also a huge real estate speculator in California's San Fernando Valley. Roy Rogers (who acted in a film called Don't Fence Me In) had a hit with the cow-pokin' favorite "Blue Shadows On the Trail," later re-recorded for the Steve Martin/Chevy Chase/Martin Short film Three Amigos. And Tex (father of sitcom star John) Ritter, whose musical career trended upward as his film career wound down, brings a lighthearted twang to "I'm Wastin' My Tears On You."

Some of the deepest roots of rock, silver screen crooning cowpunchers, Western Swing bandleaders, hillbilly twangers, and perhaps the greatest country songwriter ever, all roll into our '40s Country Essentials. By the '40s, country had moved out from its home in the hills and the badlands, due to both radio and the motion pictures. Bob Wills was scandalizing the Grand Ol' Opry by using drums, Tennessee Ernie Ford was singing with a thumpin' piano backdrop only one notch removed from rockabilly, and Hank Williams emerged as the country superstar whose light burned twice as bright but half as long. If you haven't spent much time playing in them ol' '40s country backwoods, you'll be astounded at the breadth of music that all fit under the one umbrella.